Queen Elizabeth II’s “favourite” royal residence could undergo a huge change as King Charles has submitted plans to turn part of the Balmoral Estate into a wedding venue.
Members of the public may soon have the opportunity to hold their own regal nuptials in the Queen’s Building, which is just metres away from the world-famous castle. The Balmoral Estate covers around 50,000 acres and is a working estate with grouse moors, forestry and farmland
The rules around where you can tie the knot in Scotland are a lot more relaxed than England as wedding venues do not need a licence, which is carried by the celebrant, such as a registrar or a priest.
The plans have been lodged with Aberdeenshire Council, seeking permission to convert the venue for “weddings, dinners, meetings and other events”. The plans also insist music would be kept to a “low level” so that nobody would be disturbed.
King Charles has continued the Royal Family tradition of spending his summer holidays at Balmoral, which sits on the banks of the River Dee. There are reportedly a whopping 52 bedrooms inside Balmoral, as well as a large number of reception rooms, including the one where the monarch often received guests for official visits.
But instead of staying in the main castle, the King and Queen Camilla prefer to stay at the neighbouring Birkhall estate which was once the favourite residence of the Queen Mother.
The late Queen had visited Balmoral Castle every summer right until she died for week-long holidays. She would begin her stay in late July at Craigowan Lodge before moving into the castle once it shut to visitors in August.
The grounds of Balmoral were very dear to the late Queen as Prince Philip had proposed marriage to her in the summer of 1946.
It was also the location Queen Elizabeth II passed away on September 8, 2022, without pain and it was “very peaceful” said her private secretary, Sir Edward Young’s memo.
Additionally, in 2022, Queen Elizabeth stayed at Balmoral to appoint a new prime minister, Liz Truss, instead of traveling to Buckingham Palace in London for the occasion.
Speaking to mark 25 years of the Scottish Parliament in September, King Charles suggested she “chose” to spend her last moments there, despite previous concerns that if her death occurred in the Highlands it may be logistically difficult for others.
The King said: “My late mother especially treasured the time spent at Balmoral, and it was there, in the most beloved of places, where she chose to spend her final days.”
Balmoral has been one of the royal family’s residences since 1852, when the estate and its original castle were bought by Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband. The current Balmoral Castle was commissioned after the house at the time was deemed too small.